1. Warm Up
Who were the two groups of countries at war during World War II?

2. Modern Europe
The Cold War and European Union

3. Objective
I will be able to identify the effects of the Cold War and analyze the advantages and difficulties of the European Union.

4. The Cold War
When the Allied Forces won the WWII, Germany was split between the main countries of the alliance until Europe could be rebuilt. Unfortunately, this served to bring more tension to Europe as three of these countries were rooted in capitalism and Democracy and the third, the Soviet Union, was based around Communism. These two different ideologies caused the United States and the Soviet Union to enter a silent war against each other which involved alliances, new developments, and a world on edge. This was known as the Cold War.

5. Technologies Advance
The Cold War lasted from the early 1950’s until 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. During this time, both sides of the “war” developed new and better technologies in the hope of being able to win in the case of any war that started. This created advancements in almost all fields from microwaves to space travel.

6. Write a Short Essay
Europe is a relatively small continent packed with a large number of countries which have a wide variety of cultures and languages. In 1993, countries in Europe began the European Union to political and economic ties between member countries. In 2-3 paragraphs, explain what advantages might come from a union like this and what difficulties might come up during its creation.